Bert, you are quite correct that many developing nations are bearing the brunt of these eWaste. Often lax local regulations and graft from politicians & businesses also have a hand in this play.

One thing governments can do is to provide incentives to recycle and reuse the parts by the same companies that produce them in the first place. I know this is easier said and harder to implement given the chronic off-shoring of hardware manufacturing. There needs to be a model in parts pricing that can make this happen... I do realize many sellers collect recycling fee when one buys an electronic appliance but I wonder how these funds are really used.

Rick, African countries appear to bear the brunt of the e-waste problem, NOT because they are benefitting from Moore's law, but because the e-waste is shipped to them. The article said that the "used goods" shipped to Africa are mostly non-functional, and therefore are misclassified, to avoid the costs of legitimate recycling.

You can turn in used electronic products at Best Buy stores, for instance. I thought those products were being recycled. This article implies that instead, they may be shipped to developing countries that have a significant "middle class," where they are refurbished and actually reused. Interesting. That's news to me.

My takeway is the faster/smaller/cheaper ethic of Moore's Law in developing countries drives this e-waster build up, and it seems there hasn't been enough attention to just how fast its rising, where it's going and what can be done about it.